The body of Chief Justice Fred Vinson (Jan. 22, 1890 -- Sept. 8, 1953) arrives from Washington, D.C., on a Chesapeake & Ohio train in Louisa, Ky., in September 1953. Vinson had served in all three branches of U.S. government. According to the Oyez Project, "Fred Vinson was the son of a rural Kentucky county jailer and his wife. He worked his way through college and law school and entered the practice of law in Kentucky at the age of 21. Vinson was a congressman for 8 terms and served on the influential Ways and Means Committee during much of the New Deal. He resigned his House seat to accept an appointment by Roosevelt to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. After five years on the bench, Vinson resigned to accept an appointment in the Roosevelt administration as head of the Office of Economic Stabilization. Vinson later succeeded former justice James Byrnes as head of the Office of War Mobilization. Vinson became a trusted advisor to President Harry Truman, who appointed him Secretary of the Treasury. Truman later nominated Vinson to the position of Chief Justice. Vinson avoided the announcement of sweeping constitutional principles. He resisted overturning prior decisions. Though he helped chip away at the 'separate but equal' doctrine of racial separation, he resisted a head-on confrontation of the issue in Brown v. Board of Education. Vinson's sudden death from a heart attack in 1953 paved the way for the unanimous opinion crafted by Vinson's successor, Earl Warren." Vinson is buried at Pinehill Cemetery in Louisa, Ky.

Gallery: Do you remember? -- Aug. 9, 2011

Aug. 09, 2011 @ 11:48 AM

The September 1953 funeral of Chief Justice Fred Vinson (Jan. 22, 1890 -- Sept. 8, 1953) was conducted in Louisa, Ky. Vinson had served in all three branches of U.S. government.

According to the Oyez Project, "Fred Vinson was the son of a rural Kentucky county jailer and his wife. He worked his way through college and law school and entered the practice of law in Kentucky at the age of 21.

"Vinson was a congressman for 8 terms and served on the influential Ways and Means Committee during much of the New Deal. He resigned his House seat to accept an appointment by Roosevelt to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. After five years on the bench, Vinson resigned to accept an appointment in the Roosevelt administration as head of the Office of Economic Stabilization. Vinson later succeeded former justice James Byrnes as head of the Office of War Mobilization.

"Vinson became a trusted advisor to President Harry Truman, who appointed him Secretary of the Treasury. Truman later nominated Vinson to the position of Chief Justice.

"Vinson avoided the announcement of sweeping constitutional principles. He resisted overturning prior decisions. Though he helped chip away at the 'separate but equal' doctrine of racial separation, he resisted a head-on confrontation of the issue in Brown v. Board of Education. Vinson's sudden death from a heart attack in 1953 paved the way for the unanimous opinion crafted by Vinson's successor, Earl Warren."

Vinson is buried at Pinehill Cemetery in Louisa, Ky.

The Herald-Dispatch has a treasure trove of old negatives and photos. Some of the images, we know. Others, we have no idea.

We are scanning the negatives and photos and running some of the photos in the newspaper.

These photos were from a box of 4x5 negatives.

Browse through the gallery. If you can add caption information to any of the photos (or correct a caption we already have), e-mail online editor Andrea Copley-Smith at acopley@herald-dispatch.comor call 304-526-2764. Be sure to include the title of the gallery, details of the photo, your name and phone number.